The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is getting ready to launch a new format of regional interaction. The project titled the “Governors’ Forum” will allow SCO members to expand their cooperation.

The congress of SCO heads of region is expected to take place next summer. The world is progressing along the path of integration, ties within economic and political unions are growing stronger, and new inter-state alliances are emerging. Given the acceleration of globalization and integration of SCO members, establishment of a new format of international interaction between regions may serve as an additional driver for developing relations between them, says Andrey Prutskikh, the Chelyabinsk region’s official envoy to China.

Meetings are to be held at least once a year. By now, the concept and charter of the new forum have been drafted based on the consensus principle. It will be a voluntary alliance of governors serving as a platform for regional dialog, and discussing issues of SCO interaction on the regional level.

The initiative of establishing the new format of international regional cooperation was unanimously supported at the meeting of the SCO council of national coordinators in 2017, which was noted in the Astana declaration issued afer the SCO summit on June 9, 2017. In Russia, the new project has already gained support of 65 regions.